‘The Kashmiris have won a great reputation as artisans, and were celebrated in the old days for their skill in art manufactures.’¹ With these words Sir Walter Lawrence, a 19th century colonial administrator working in Kashmir, introduced the amazing ingenuity and creativity of native Kashmiri artisans. He then went on to elaborate upon the numerous crafts made in Kashmir that he had witnessed himself – ‘crafts that capture both the creative spirit of the Kashmiri craftsmen and the essence of the land’. Lawrence nevertheless, was not the first European to be impressed by the wide range and scale of Kashmiri craftsmanship.

The land and its crafts had already been romanticized and celebrated as ‘Cashmere’ in the court of French Empress Josephine.² With the patronage of the Empress, pashmina shawls of Kashmir, with their unique embroidery, had emerged as a favourite accessory in the couture culture of the 19th century European royal courts.

Kashmir as a ‘geography’ was intimately ingrained in the colonial mindscape. When Thomas Moore in his famous poem, Lalla Rookh in 1817 asked, ‘Who has not heard of Vale of Kashmir’, he in fact meant that many had. This fictional literary work sold 83,000 copies and ran into 55 editions. Though Moore had never visited Kashmir, the writings of Francois Bernier and Forster provided him an imagery that Moore was able to paint and conjure up in ‘Lalla Rookh’ – an imagery of an opulent orient, rich in pattern like the Cashmere shawl. For European officials working in British India, Kashmir, apart from its rich spread of crafts, was also a gentle reminder of home, with its verdant green, its placid lakes and rivers.

The British empire in India saw itself as the rightful successor to the Mughals and in a way, inherited the Mughal fascination with Kashmir. This fascination was not limited only to the natural beauty of the land but also included the arts and crafts. During the later part of the 18th century Kashmiri shawls were part of the dress of Egyptian Mamluk Sultans and worn by the English ladies.’ In their celebration of Kashmiri shawls, we can see the desire of the colonial power to invent and project itself as successor to the great world empires – an imperial projection that was also based on the symbolism embedded in the Kashmir shawl.

 

Much earlier in the 15th century the finesse and productivity of Kashmiri artisans had been recorded by the Mughal conqueror, historian Mirza Haider Dughalt (d.1551), who briefly ruled over Kashmir as a semi-independent ruler. Mirza Haider hailed from Central Asia and was well versed in the artistic and cultural traditions of the Timurid court, best exemplified by the royal cities of Samarkand and Bukhara. About Kashmiri artisans he records, ‘…in Kashmir one meets with all those arts and crafts which are, in most cities, uncommon… In the whole of Mavara-un-Nahr, except in Samarqand and Bokhara, these are nowhere to be met with, while in Kashmir they are even abundant.’³ A well travelled connoisseur of art and literature, the praises of Mirza Haider reflect the level of artistic excellence that Kashmir had achieved during the medieval period.

For this well established craft base, Kashmir craftsmen owed much in their artistic proclivity to two historic personalities linked with the period of Muslim rule in Kashmir. A native Sultan, Zain-ul Abidin (r.1420-1470 CE) and an immigrant Sufi saint, Mir Sayyid Ali Hamdani (1314-1384 CE). Sayyid Ali, popularly known as Shah-I Hamdan, was a famous Persian mystic who is said to have not only introduced the Kubrawi Sufi order in Kashmir but also cultural traditions that had been developed in the Persianate world. The Sayyid, who arrived in Kashmir following Timur’s invasion of Persia, brought with him a host of artisans and craftsmen who found favour with the royal court in Kashmir.

A much greater contribution was made to the cultural and artistic landscape of Kashmir by Sultan Zain-ul Abidin. Most historical references maintain that Zain-ul Abidin invited craftsmen from all parts of the Islamic world especially from Iran and Central Asia. Indeed, and according to popular legend, Zain-ul Abidin is said to have spent some time at Samarkand before his accession to the throne. This journey to the then heart of the Islamic civilization would indeed have invested in the young prince a refined taste for art and crafts. When he ascended the throne, the Sultan made a sustained effort to enrich his land. Amongst the various crafts that were introduced in this period is the art of making lacquered pen cases known as kar-i-kalamdan (papier-mache), khatamband, pinjrakari (lattice work), tilla qari, carpet weaving and paper making.

Yet, Kashmir had an earlier and much older tradition of art and crafts dating back to the 7th century CE when after having been a part of the Mauryan and Kushan empires, a native dynasty established itself in the region. It was also in the 7th century that the Chinese visitor Hsuan Tsang visited the valley and provided us with the first recorded mention of three different types of woollen garments in vogue with the people of Kashmir. Native historians of a later period bring to fore the fact that the textile industry of Kashmir was producing enough material to meet local demand as well as export to neighbouring kingdoms.

During most of the medieval period, pre-dating the independent Muslim Sultanate in the region in the 14th century, Kashmir had emerged as an important centre for the surrounding Himalayan states. The artistic and architectural achievements of Kashmir acted as an inspiration for these hill states. The form and the shape of the stone temples of Kashmir, with their pyramidal roof, regular colonnades, arched porches – so unlike the temples of Indian plains – provided the canvas within which builders in the wider western Himalayan region created their own sacred spaces, albeit on a much smaller scale and in wood as opposed to the stone monuments of Kashmir. Similarly the sculptures of Kashmir carved in stone, bronze, wood and ivory all are a testament to the existence of a distinct Kashmiri school of art that flourished from the 7th century CE onwards.

 

Located on one of the major tributaries of the Silk Route leading into the Indian subcontinent, Kashmir, within the folds of its mountainous location, developed a regional character – open to outside cultural influences yet mostly impervious to the threats of a physical invasion. This unique character of Kashmir has helped in establishing and promoting the native experience of art and architecture, representing a distinct sense of Kashmiriness, Kashmiriyat. Yet, the Kashmir of medieval times was not an isolated inward looking cultural outpost. Rather, it appears to have imbibed a cosmopolitan character drawing visitors, traders and the occasional monks, a tradition that continued till the 12th century when Kalhana, the poet-historian provides us with details of how the surviving princes of the Kabul Shahi kingdom found refuge at the court of the Kings of Kashmir with whom they had historical links.

The artisans of medieval Kashmir drawing on the traditions of North India, Gandhara and Central Asia, helped in creating a new style combining these varied traditions in a unique synthesis of form and spirit. This synthesis helped in creating an eclectic style combining varied elements from different cultures under what can be understood as the overarching theme of Kashmiri art.

Unfortunately, barring in the realm of architecture and sculpture, not much has survived of this artistic outpouring. We are left to guess about the state of the crafts of Kashmir during this period. From the textile motif represented on the cushion of an ivory statue of Buddha, to the wall murals covering the 9th century Alchi temple in Ladakh, we are offered an insight into the world of medieval Kashmiri art pre-dating the establishment of Muslim rule in the valley.

Amongst the numerous artifacts in the collection of SPS Museum in Srinagar is a black howdah cover covered with foliated Kufi calligraphy in tilla qari – golden thread work. The museum has dated the howdah cover to the reign of Sultan Zain-ul Abidin, and if the date holds, this cover would be the oldest piece of textile associated with the court of the Sultans of Kashmir. It was in the court of these Sultans that a new era of development of arts and crafts took place. The 15th century Kashmiri witnessed a steady arrival of Sufi saints accompanied by an entourage of attendants with diverse backgrounds – artisans, architects, preachers, poets. Mostly natives of Iran or areas bordering Iran especially Mawara-al-Nahr (Transoxania), they represented the inherited artistic traditions of the Seljuk and Timurid court. And once they settled down in Kashmir as part of a Sufi khanqah (hospices) or attendants to the Sultan, they helped in promoting these new artistic traditions among the local population.

 

New quarters came up in the capital city of Srinagar, housing the artisans and their families whose names survive even today. Apart from the introduction of new crafts, designs, motifs and colour palette, we also see the revival of older native industries. While we have no textual reference to when and how silk was introduced to Kashmir, it is generally accepted that by 150 BCE silk had spread to the western Himalaya from China through Khotan. It is safe to posit that Kashmir also had an established silk industry, which was regulated by Sultan Zain-ul Abidin. Thus a century later, Mirza Haider could record his amazement, ‘Among the wonders of Kashmir are the quantities of mulberry trees cultivated for their leaves from which silk is obtained.’⁴

The annexation of the Mulk-i-Kashmir into the Mughal empire by Emperor Akbar in 1586 AD marks the beginning of Mughal fascination with Kashmir and its crafts. For the Mughal, Kashmir epitomized the eternal paradise, firdous, and it is as such celebrated in their landscaped gardens, architecture, poetry and historigarphy. It was during the Mughal rule that one of the crafts of Kashmir achieved the fame that would make it a prized possession not only in the Mughal court but also in Safavid Iran and Ottoman Turkey – the pashmina shawls of Kashmir. Abu’l Fazl and following him Francois Bernier have both written about how the pashmina shawls of Kashmir were seen as a prized possession among the Mughal nobility and also as part of gift exchange between the Mughal emperor and friendly courts. Akbar devoted considerable energy to a systematic organization of the shawl industry, while also shaping the way it was received at the court.

 

To quote Abu’l Fazl, ‘In former times shawls were often brought from Kashmir. People folded them up in four folds, and wore them for a long time. Now, they are generally worn without folds, and merely thrown over the shoulders. His Majesty has commenced to wear them double (du-shawl) which looks very well.’⁵ To cater to this large demand, Kashmiri merchants started organizing kharkhanas (factories), which became the backbone of the craft industry of Kashmir. Over a period of time similar kharkhanas became associated with papier-mache, carpet weaving, wood carving and sozni (embroidery) work.

 

To a large extent the shawl industry embodies the sensibility of Kashmiri crafts. In small dingy karkhanas, located within the mansion of the karkhandars, historically Kashmiri artisans have toiled from the break of dawn till sunset producing their masterpieces. Hardly shifting their posture, but for the occasional tea or hookah break, they have from early childhood worked their way in the same environment of the karkhanas. From a stylized almond embroidered on the border of a shawl, to the exuberance of hazar (1000 flowers) on a papier-mache kalamdan (pen case), they have in their own way captured the beauty of Kashmir, a beauty which they could only relive in the skill of their hands.

For the Kashmiri artisan there was an underlying memory and an imagination of the place, intrinsic to the whole process of creation and when given an opportunity, they used the medium of crafts to provide insights into their psyche and their mind. This was represented in the form of a ‘map shawl’ commissioned by Maharaja Ranbir Singh for the Prince of Wales. The shawl was displayed in the Indian section of the Paris Universal Exhibition of 1878. The ‘map shawl’ is now housed at the South Kensington Museum, London. It is a classic depiction of how the Kashmiri artisan imagined Kashmir. Like a collage, it identifies the land with rivers and canals, great gardens, shrines on the riverfront, the tall vernacular houses, a magical imagery and a cultural landscape. Given an opportunity, that is how they wished to be known to the world outside and they must have been conscious of how the shawl would travel.

 

Apart from the semantics of the craft, the inspiration behind a motif and the issues of patronage, was the economic contribution of the crafts of Kashmir to the local economy. During much of the later medieval period, Kashmiri crafts, especially of shawl weaving, served as the main support base of the local economy. Kashmiri shawl merchants acquired the status of malik-ul tujjar (lords of trade) and were linked with commission houses from Yarkand to London. Writing in the closing part of the 19th century, Harvey, with a degree of astonishment, tells us about a shawl merchant, Haji Abid, who in her words is ‘the best of the fraternity and receives orders from the London houses’.⁶

 

The wealth derived from the shawl industry also found its way to the local patronage of shrines, mosques and khanqahs. The Haji Abid of Ms Harvey’s account was responsible for major repairs to the Imambara at Zadibal. Similarly the great shrine complex of Asar-i-Sharief Hazratbal owed its origins to the philanthropy of another shawl merchant from the Ishbari clan.

Another major trader of the city from the Dewani family set up a rival Asar-i-Sharief at Soura. This material link between mercantile wealth and patronage of community affairs was a trend that continued way up till the early part of the 20th century where repairs, extensions and rebuilding of major mosques, khanqahs (hospice) and shrines of Kashmir were undertaken by wealthy merchants who represented the community elite. And, when Kashmir was struck by famine or any other natural calamity, it was these merchants who organized langars (public kitchen) for the relief of the populace. This is not to say that the interface and connect between the merchants and craftspersons was always or entirely benign. There was a dominant element of exploitation in such transactions as prevalent all over the subcontinent. The disconsolate relationship between them is aptly described in a Persian verse by the Poet of the East, Allama Iqbal in his verse,

‘Bar tan-e khawaja qaba az dast-e-ou

Naseeb-e-tanash jaamai tar tare’

(The Khawaja wears the long royal attire woven by him.

But he is condemned to wear a worn out piece of garment).

 

The current, rather long phase of political instability has taken a heavy toll on the social fabric that had survived many of the vicissitudes in the past. Kashmir has historically been at the crossroads of connecting routes and economic exchange. Also described as ‘the only living museum of our past’, it is craving to be understood on its own terms, with its rich cultural heritage, and with a keen desire to preserve its identity that still survives in many a forms of art, craft, literature and in the inherent syncretic, mystical traditions.

 

Footnotes:

1. W.R. Lawrence, The Valley of Kashmir. Kashmir Kitab Ghar, Jammu, 1996, p. 370.

2. See, J. Rizvi with M. Ahmad, Pashmina: The Kashmir Shawl and Beyond. Marg Publications, Mumbai, 2017.

3. Mirza Haider Dughlat, English transl. E.D. Ross, The Tarikh-I Rashidi: The History of the Moghuls of Central Asia. Gulshan Books, Srinagar, 2012, p. 691. Some of the crafts being practiced in Kashmir that are recorded by Mirza Haider include stone cutting, stone polishing, bottle making,window cutting, gold beating etc.

4. Ibid.

5. Abu’l Fazl Allami, English transl. H. Blochmann, Ain-I Akbari (vol. 1). G.H. Rouse, Calcutta, 1873, p. 92.

6. Mrs. Harvey, The Adventures of a Lady in Tartary, Thibet, China and Kashmir. Gulshan Books, Srinagar, 2016, p. 111.